I had to get this in right before the year ends. This post is super late because this look is from my 24th birthday back in May! I went to Karyn's Vegan Restaurant that night and had a wonderful time. I still daydream about that delicious soul food dinner! Anywho, I am in absolute love with sequins! Especially sequined vintage and vintage inspired pieces. While thrifting back in the spring, I found this emerald green sequined piece and grabbed it oh so quickly. Although it's not an authentic vintage dress from the era, it reminded me of the 1960's sequined dresses that old school girl groups like The Supremes used to wear.

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This is a Mezza Luna by Modi sequined dress, not an authentic 1960's vintage piece, but definitely, obviously inspired by vintage dresses. This dress is probably from the 1970's or 1980's, and I bet it was worn at many disco clubs back in the day. To go with the 1960's, mod inspired look, I styled my hair in an up-do puff and applied white and black, "Twiggy" themed make-up. I love the bright eye/nude lip look of 60's make-up. Since this is such a jazzy, snazzy look, I wore my snakeskin taupe and brown colored Boutique 9 strapped heels.

That's all I have for this one, hope you all enjoyed all my posts this year. There will be plenty more fashion looks to come in 2017! Be sure to follow by email to stay updated on the blog!

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Boy oh boy the racism is being revealed tenfold. First the Victoria's Secret incident a few weeks ago and now Versace is being sued for using a "secret code" for employees to be alerted when Black customers enter the store. Former employee, 23 year old Christopher Sampino worked at the Versace outlet store in Pleasanton, California and claims he was fired for being mixed raced.

Sampino also alleges that during an employee training session, his former manager put him on to the "D410 Code", a "casual" code to state when a Black person walks into the store. According to CNN, Sampino replied to the manager" "You know that I'm African American?" Sampino states that he did not receive sufficient training, was treated poorly and fired after two weeks because he did not "understand luxury" and did not "know the luxury life". The former employee also did not receive pay, nor breaks while working at the establishment. Versace denies these claims and the case status conference will be held March 21, 2017.

While this case is all alleged, none of this surprises me. There have been rumors about blatant racism in the high fashion industry for decades, occurring on the runway and in the stores. Remember when Oprah Winfrey faced discrimination at the Hermes luxury store in Paris? Even big named supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Iman have spoken out about this in this 2013 interview calling out designers like Calvin Klein, Armani, and Donna Karan for not having women of color walk their runways. When I first started getting into fashion design many years ago, I adored lines like Louis Vuitton, Versace, Chanel, Gucci, and others. As I got older, I grew out of (high end) label loving and just appreciated clothing for the style more so than the brand.

I always noticed that there was a huge lack of Black models and even Black employees in these luxury stores. Although in recent times more Black and other poc models are being featured in these haute couture circles, personally I'm still not buying the sincerity. In this day and age, racism, prejudices, diversity and lack of representation discussions are hot topics and many companies are getting on board practicing "tokenism" to save their brands, in my opinion only to keep the poc public satisfied.

With all the stories of racism and a lack of representation occurring with some of these brands, I'm still in awe at how many Black folk still go out and support the companies. Brands like Versace even have a deep rooted relationship with hip-hop and throughout the years, there has still been a fight for representation and issues of discrimination at stores. Am I saying you shouldn't purchase from any high end brands? Not at all. Obviously it's your money and you spend it how you please, but we need to be very mindful of who we support. While I'll never deny the fabulous fashions that Versace and other high end labels have created throughout the decades, and I still find inspiration in them, personally I'd much rather support Black high end designers who are in the business of celebrating and representing Blackness with no issue. Here's a list of Black luxury fashion designers to support: 18 Black Modern Fashion Designers You Should Know About

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2016 just won't let up. Actor/comedian/director Ricky Harris died December 25th from a heart attack. His death was confirmed by Mike Epps on Instagram. The Long Beach, California native is known from his portrayals in movies like "Poetic Justice", "Tales from the Hood", "Everybody Hates Chris", and "Murder Was the Case". Rest in peace to the late Ricky Harris and condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.

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Brows are so important for makeup! I mean, it's basically the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. Now that I'm getting more into makeup, I've decided to retire struggle brows with basic eyeliner pencils and graduate to eyebrow pencils and kits. At first, I started using the e.l.f. Cosmetics Instant Lift Brow Pencil and it was A1! Only issue was that the stick broke off and it stopped twisting up. I'd actually purchase it again, but now I'm on some new ish. Enter Shea Mositure's "The Perfect Brow Kit".

"Redefine your looks with SheaMoisture’s The Perfect Brow Kit - Dark Brown. Packed with natural ingredients, certified organic Shea Butter, a mirror and two angled brushes, this perfect brow kit from the stacks of SheaMoisture will sculpt your brows to perfection in a matter of minutes! SheaMoisture’s The Perfect Brow Kit - Dark Brown is a sleek, portable and compact kit which contains two shades of powder. You can mix these shades to create a customized color to get fuller and perfect brows. The long-wear setting wax will keep your eyebrows in place all day long! Natural looking results, compact packaging, long-wear formula- SheaMoisture’s The Perfect Brow Kit - Dark Brown will make you fall in love with your picture-perfect eyebrows."

Pros:

Pigmented color

Long lasting

Easy to use

Cruelty free, natural ingredients

Comes with a small compact mirror

Cons:

None

This is a great brow kit overall. It comes with two different brushes, two separate shades of brown, a dark brown/black and a lighter brown and wax to shape the brows. I usually mix the two colors together and add a dab of wax to my brows and the fine tip brush is my favorite to use. I recently used this for my "Wintertime Fine" LOTD post and the results are the bomb diggity fresh. This kit is simple and straight to the point and I have no complaints!

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Hands down, Shea Moisture is one of my favorite natural hair and body brands. Not only is this brand affordable, but also has high quality, organic, vegam. gluten free ingredients. First off, I love the prices of Shea Moisture soaps, plus they always have Buy 1 Get 1 Free or Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off sales at Walgreens stores, CVS, and Target. I also like that Shea Moisture has several different collections, each one serving a special purpose for body and/or skincare.

I picked up Shea Moisture's Coconut & Hibiscus Shea Butter Soap from the Coconut & Hibiscus collection. The collection aims to "brighten, firm, and tone" skin. Secondly, I'm digging the size of the bar. It's on the chunky side and lasts a good while. The scent of this soap is a subtle coconut and hibiscus smell, but not too strong. However there is a faint "doughy" smell to it, perhaps it's the mushroom ingredient. If you're a person who's very sensitive to smell, you may want to try another one of Shea Moisture's soaps. The soap creates a great lather and does a fine job at keeping my skin smooth.

Overall, I like this soap mainly for the benefits more so than the scent. I think this soap does a good job at toning because my skin is looking fairly even, but I didn't really see any of the toning benefits at play. I have purchased this soap before and will continue to.

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Wintertime is in FULL effect here in Chicago! Well, not officially, but it started snowing a few weeks ago and the temperature has dropped greatly, so it's pretty much here, but not here. You feel me? Just a day ago, it was a whopping 3 degrees outside! Regardless of the winter, I'm still planning on having a great time.

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As usual, I headed to the vintage store a few weeks ago and I came across this dress. Initially I was going to sell it on my vintage shop, but I tried it on and I fell in so much love! It reminds me of a dress Mary Jenkins from "227" would have worn back in the 1980's.

This is an obvious vintage dress. 1980's Positive Attitude shoulder padded, and belted. What drew me to it was mainly the deep teal color, bringing in brightness in the dull winter season. The dress is a little on the "old fashioned" side in regards to the style, but I was still diggin' it.

Last fall, my boyfriend bought me this super cute cameo necklace from Wire Expressions. I've always been a fan of cameo jewelry, but it's always been hard to find images of Black women on them, so I was super excited to find the "Khadijah" necklace. It has a lovely bronze finish that matches the buttons and belt furnish.

Blues were a great choice to add with this look. Since it's boot season, I wore my snakeskin boots I got from Alcala's Western Wear store here in Chicago so many years ago. I hadn't worn my blue, suede and leather Coach bag in years and paired it with this look. To add a pop of contrasted color, I wore my chunky orange and yellow bracelet cuff.

Years ago I had a lovely grey tweed Juicy Couture pea coat. Once I couldn't fit it anymore, I decided to keep the detachable racoon fur collar, because baby I love furs! I saw it peeking in my closet and added it as a mini stole across my shoulder. I love how it matches the overall classic, vintage look.

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This weekend I went to Ras Dashen Ethiopian Restaurant in the north side Edgewater neighborhood. Ethiopian food is beginning to become some of my favorite African cuisine. This past summer, I checked out Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, also on the north side. I visited Ras Dashen in 2014, my first time trying Ethiopian food. My boyfriend and I decided to check it out again since we were in the mood for Ethiopian cuisine.

Ras Dashen is owned by chef Zenash Beyene, a Beta Israel (Ethiopian Hebrew) native of Belese, Ethiopia. It is co-owned by her husband Kevin Swier. The restaurant is named after the Ras Dashen mountains, close to Beyene's hometown and the highest mountains in Ethiopia. In March 2001, Beyene opened the restaurant with the motto "Comfort Food from the Mountains of Ras Dashen". Ever since then, the establishment has been one of the most popular of Ethiopian dining in the city of Chicago.

Ras Dashen is a cozy, dimly lit eatery with beautiful Ethiopian art decorating the walls and there's even a full bar in the back of the restaurant. Regardless of the snow, the place was full of customers ready to chow down on delicious East African cuisine. Not only does Ras Dashen have your typical Western table and chairs, but there are also traditional Ethiopian mesobs. These are absolutely beautiful! Mesobs are short, woven wicker tables with colorful trays adorned with Ethiopian artwork surrounded by wicker, cushioned chairs.

For an appetizer, I had the Cucumber Salad drizzled in oil based Zenash dressing (named after the owner), spices with sweetened walnuts, onions, and carrots. I loved the walnuts the best because of the sweetened taste, I wish more were added in. My boyfriend had the Sambusa, mini pastries filled with beef with dip on the side. Customers have the option to choose either, chickpeas or spinach as fillings.

Gluten free injera bread on the side for me.

Ethiopian food is served on injera bread, a circular, sourdough bread used as a plate and utensils to scoop up the food instead of using silverware. Yes that's right, you eat with your hand, My boyfriend had the Yebeg Wat, lamb in dark berbere sauce while I had the Asa Tbis, a tilapia dish with sauteed veggies. For a side dish, we both chose the Qosta, "fresh spinach with onions, garlic, and Ethiopian spices." The spinach is some of the freshest spinach I've ever had, as well as the fish. The meal was hot, and well seasoned as expected. What I like about Ethiopian food is that it definitely gets you full, and this dinner certainly did the job because I didn't even get a chance to finish eating.

I had a glass of 2012 South African Pinotage. I like a glass of wine every blue moon, it's good for you, ya know?

Service wise, our waiter was very friendly, patient, and very helpful. The food took a while to be served, but I had no issue with that because the place was busy, plus I'm a patient person. The prices are decent as well, right in the middle, not too low or high. It's hard to find restaurants that cater to special diets, but Ras Dashen is a great place for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. Gluten free options, barely any dairy filled food on the menu, vegetables galore, and meat. So if you follow a special diet, this place will be great for you. I have no complaints about Ras Dashen and I highly recommend it to all.

Rating: 9.5/10

Ras Dashen is located at 5846 N. Broadway St. open Sunday-Thursday from 11:00am-10:30pm, closed Tuesday, and Friday-Saturday 11:00am-11:00pm 773-506-9601.